Antitrust Matters - July 2016

Antitrust Update

Welcome to the July issue of DLA Piper's quarterly Antitrust Matters newsletter, which brings you antitrust and competition news from all around the world.

While we reflect on the UK's decision to leave the European Union in a so-called Brexit referendum, it is fair to say that the impact on competition law (in such areas as legal privilege and substantive assessment of transactions with a UK link) will not materialise immediately. While the Brexit vote has stirred up significant debate among EU stakeholders there are no indications of an anti-UK bias so far.

Today's featured article is a global piece on global trends in combatting anti-competitive information disclosure, to which lawyers from around the globe have contributed. This issue also provides our Special Report on bid rigging in Eastern Europe followed by Global highlights.

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In this issue

Competition authorities have long grappled with the potential anti-competitive effects of pricing disclosures between competitors, or price signalling as it is commonly called. While some forms of pricing disclosures are legitimate and may be beneficial to consumers, other forms allow competitors to act collusively, leading to market inefficiencies that are ultimately borne by consumers.

Many jurisdictions, including the US, UK, EU and New Zealand, do not have specific price signalling provisions, and price signalling conduct is usually prosecuted under either generic prohibitions of anti-competitive agreements, or concerted practices prohibitions. In doing so, competition authorities worldwide have sought to stretch the cartel concept to regulate anti-competitive pricing disclosures.

As competition authorities sharpen their focus on anti-competitive price signalling, it is increasingly important for businesses to understand how their conduct may be viewed under competition laws globally.

This article provides an overview of developments in various jurisdictions:

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DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.